An Understanding
by metric-electric
Summary: Hermione is attacked, violated and stranded out in the snow and is forced to look for shelter, or die. What mansion is she to stumble upon but the Malfoy's? OneShot. DHr REVIEW.


AN: okay, so, this is just some random thing I came up with. I haven't read another story like it, so I hope it's not like, cliché or anything and I didn't know. So READ AND REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINKKKK.

An Understanding

Written by Jami Ruggeri

August 16th, 2006

One – Shot

It was Christmas Holiday at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Hermione Granger was staying there unfortunately. Her parents were in America visiting a few relatives and to her bad luck she wasn't going. They were in Los Angeles apparently, and decided that it wasn't a very good place for their daughter to venture into. Thus, is why she stayed at her second home, Hogwarts. At least Harry was staying with her. He never really went anywhere for the Christmas holidays, unless it was with Ron, but he was off with the rest of the Weasley's to Romania to visit Charlie.

So while her parents were off gallivanting in the casinos with her aunts and uncles Hermione was enjoying a Hogsmeade afternoon, sadly, by herself. Harry had told her earlier that he couldn't attend because he had important things to go over with Dumbledore. Hermione didn't mind though. She bustled into Honeydukes and bought herself a nice green lollipop. Then she soon found her way into Flourish and Blott's and browsed through the books admiringly. She sat down in a spare armchair and leafed through a book filled with history of Witch and Wizard Healers. Realizing that she didn't bring enough money, she sighed and made a note to herself to come back next time to get it.

She wandered into the Three Broomsticks and ordered herself a butterbeer. As she sipped the warm liquid she spotted the blonde haired Slytherin in a booth by himself in the corner. She studied him for a moment or two. His hair wasn't as neat as it normally was. His silvery blonde locks were ruffled and messy, almost exactly like Harry and Ron's hair. He had dark circles under his blue eyes and it looked like he hadn't slept for days. He had a firewhiskey in his hand and it was almost gone. Hermione wondered what he had gone through to look like such a wreck. As he was walking out she caught his eye and he looked at her. Their eyes met and Hermione couldn't tell what kind of look he was giving her. He wasn't smirking as usual and he didn't have a disgusted look on his face as his eyes glazed over in thought. He was merely just staring and it gave Hermione the chills. She shrugged as he left and she continued to drink her beverage, deciding not to think too much of it.

She had been in the Three Broomsticks for nearly forty-five minutes, reading the _Daily Prophet_ when she decided that she needed to keep moving to keep herself entertained. She looked at her watch. It read 6:00 exactly. It was almost time to go back to the old, castle like school. She headed out the door and peered around. It was definitely getting dark and it was snowing more heavily than it had been when she first arrived. She only spotted about four students and they were all walking speedily in the same direction. Yes, it was definitely time to go. The carriages were probably almost about to leave.

Tightening her cloak and Gryffindor scarf she began hustling after them. That was when she felt herself being pulled back by a really strong force. She went to belt out a scream when her mouth was covered and she was dragged away into a back alley. She was thrown to the ground and she peered up, trying to catch a glimpse of her attackers face but it was way to dark, especially in the alleyway.

And then everything went dark.

She awoke extremely cold and lightheaded. Her vision was blurred and it was snowing non-stop. She was lying down in snow, she could tell. There were trees and bushes around her. She was in the woods. Her cloak was undone and the buttons on her blouse were undone and a few were gone from probably being pulled apart roughly. She felt a painful aching in her lower abdomen and her skirt was wrinkled and partly ripped. Her stockings were dirty and lopsided. At least she still had her shoes on.

It was undeniable. Hermione must have been raped.

She began to sit up but toppled over again in the snowy heap. She let out a whimper of pain from the sharp, cold impact and just stayed there weeping for a few moments. When she got her nerve back, she stood slowly, and winced as pain shot through her body. She had to find her way out of the woods and find shelter and fast. Otherwise she might as well be dead.

It was obviously late. Very late. Too late to get back to Hogwarts. Plus she had no idea where she was. She stumbled around through the thickness of the forest she was in. She hugged herself as she cried.

She had no idea how long exactly she had been wandering, but she had made it out of the thick woods full of snow and was now in a rather large clearing. Up ahead she could see a long, thin road and a large gate that most likely led to a house. She began running with the little strength that she had left and soon reached the gate. It was locked. She ruffled through her pockets and gave a great sigh of relief when she still had her wand. She gave a weak, _'Alohomora' _and the gates thankfully opened and she walked inside through the thick bars.

She was stunned to find a huge white mansion ahead of her, covered in snow. Getting over her stupor she walked speedily towards the great building and rapped on the large doors with the knocker.

After a few minutes the door clanked loudly and began opening. She heard a voice from the other side but was not able to see who it was yet.

"I don't understand why one of the stupid house-elves could have gotten the-" but the voice was cut off as he saw whom it was. Hermione gasped. "Granger?"

"Malfoy!" She cried while shivering. "I'm stranded. I don't know what to do! Please help me!" Hermione threw herself at him. Even though it was Draco Malfoy she was so incredibly happy that it had been a fellow student who had lived there.

"Ugh, Granger! Calm down." Draco told her took hold of her shoulders. "Errr, why don't you come inside?" Hermione nodded and followed him in through the doors and he closed them behind her. "My father will be furious, but…"

"I- I'm sorry. It's just…" She wrung her hands in nervousness.

"What happened to you? You look a fright." He exclaimed and smirked at her. When she gave him a look full of sadness and distraught his smirk completely wiped off his face. "Would you like something to drink? I'll, err, get one of the house-elves to get you something hot. You can just sit down here." He pointed to a large, black sofa and she sat on it while he left.

As soon as he was gone she broke out in tears again. The fire from the fireplace was warm and was radiating off of her face. At least that felt good. She hugged herself more tightly and held her head down, her soft brown curls falling into her face.

That bastard had stolen her innocence. She had been waiting for someone special to come along and that insolent evil figure whom she hadn't even seen what he had looked like raped her for who knows how long and how much while she was fucking unconscious. What had she done to deserve this?

She felt a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't turn to face him. She couldn't bear him to see her like this. So vulnerable. So lost.

"Granger… what the hell happened to you?" He asked softly and sat down beside her. She didn't answer for a moment and he set her hot beverage down on the table. She assumed it was hot chocolate or something. She was hesitating. What was she supposed to tell him?

"I… he… in the woods…" She stumbled on her words as she shivered, not because she was cold, but because she was so upset. She was hyperventilating.

"Granger, calm down. Err, it's okay." He patted her on the back softly, trying his best to sooth her. It was to no avail. She just shuddered and whimpered even more. Deciding to forget his pride, and more or less just wanting her to calm the hell down and tell him what was wrong, he very hesitantly took her in his broad arms and hugged her to himself. She didn't move away or flinch, or tell him to get off of her. She didn't even speak at all for what seemed like hours. But finally her quaking body stopped it's uncontrollable wracking and she began speaking.

"Malfoy… I don't know what to do or who to turn to. You're the only one who's around… just, don't laugh at me. I need to let this out…" He gave her an understanding look.

"Okay, go ahead. I won't laugh." She nodded and buried her face into his black, silky sweater.

"I… was about to go back to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade, when I was attacked and I blacked out. And… I woke up in the woods. I…I was… raped."

"Bloody hell, Granger! Are you serious?" He asked her and pulled her from him to look her in the eyes.

"Why would I bloody lie about something like that?" She asked him, a pained look on her face. He looked away from her, thoughts crossing through his mind. Images he didn't want to witness shot around past his eyes. He shook his head, getting rid of them and handed her the hot chocolate he had gotten for her. She gladly took a few sips.

"Are you… okay? Are you hurt?" He asked her, trying not to sound too concerned but failing miserably since it was something to be _very_ concerned about. She shrugged.

"I hurt. A lot. Especially when I… walk. And my clothes are a mess. I think I was robbed too. My money is gone. At least I still have my wand."

"At least you're still alive! You could have died out there!" Draco suddenly snapped, a look of sheer horror and worry across his face. Hermione peered up at him, shocked. He suddenly realized what he had said and blushed. "I mean, err, Potter and the Weasel would have killed themselves!"

"Hah, just what you would have wanted. Then the precious Golden Trio that you so loathe would be gone. Unfortunately, I'm still here." She scoffed and took another gulp of her luke warm drink. He studied her for a moment or two before he spoke again, very calmly.

"Look, Granger. I… it's almost hard for me to say this, but, I've changed, okay? I still hate Potter and that stupid, poor red-headed family," Hermione glared at him, "And you may not be my favorite person in the world, but I've come to realize that none of that stupid stuff I used to care about matters anymore. I don't look up to my father the way I used to. I realize that I can believe whatever I want to believe, and honestly, I don't give a damn if you're Muggleborn and I'm Pureblooded. It's just insane to not associate with someone just because they have a different heritage or if you're Slytherin and they're Gryffindor. It just doesn't matter anymore. It's our seventh year. I give up. It exhausts me too much to care." When Draco was done his little speech, Hermione gave him a look of utmost approving and surprise.

"Wow, Malfoy. You sure have grown up. I'm very… proud of you. I'm surely impressed."

"I'm a Malfoy. It's my job to impress." He told her, holding a hand to his own chest as he spoke. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. They were genuine smiles.

Suddenly they both heard a voice from a distant corridor calling out to Malfoy. "Draco, I heard from a house-elf that we have a guest?" Draco's' father walked inside the fire-lit room regally, his long, dashing blonde hair falling behind his back gracefully. "Oh, Ms. Granger." He said softly with a strange look on his face as he saw who it was. "What brings you to our humble home at this hour?"

Hermione cleared her throat and set down her hot chocolate. "I… err… that is…" She stumbled on her words again.

"Father, Granger has been stranded and she needs a place to stay. I let her in. Is that alright?" Draco asked him. Lucius gave a reluctant smile.

"Why, of course." He said, his half smile curling almost in a disgusted manner. "Lead her to one of the guest bedrooms, Draco." He said, and with a wave of his hand he left the room, his cloak billowing behind him dramatically just like Snape's always did.

"Thanks, Malfoy. I didn't know what to say." He gave her a knowing nod and gestured to follow him. They traveled for a long time beside each other through the dark, torch-lit corridors until finally Draco stopped in front of a large door and opened it, letting her inside.

Hermione gasped in awe at the surroundings. The room was huge, and had a grand, king sized four-poster bed in the middle of the room with mahogany wood and dark green covers and sheets. "How very Slytherin." She told him with a smirk, and he returned her smirk with his own.

"Does that mean you approve, Granger?"

She nodded. "When are you going to start calling me by my first name?" She asked him suddenly.

He was caught off guard by her question but managed to answer swiftly with, "The same day you start calling me by _my_ first name." He grinned at her.

"Okay… Draco." She blushed for some reason as his name rolled off of her lips.

"Alright, Hermione."

Out of nowhere a house-elf walked into the room carrying clothing of some sort and set it on the bed. "For the guest, Young Master." The small male elf bowed deeply and Draco dismissed him. Hermione frowned but decided not to lecture the boy who so willingly let her stay at his mansion with silly ideas of house-elf equality.

Hermione took out her wand and uttered a quick charm and the clothes on the bed transferred to her body and her other clothes turned into a neat pile on the dresser next to the bed. She then clambered into the four-poster and got under the warm covers.

"Goodnight, Granger. I hope you sleep well." Draco said and turned to leave when she called out to him softly.

"Draco… I… wait." He turned around to face her. "Would you… um… stay with me?" After a hesitant moment and both of them blushing, he nodded and walked over to the bed.

He took off his sweater but left his black slacks on and got into the bed next to her. Without warning or reason Hermione snuggled up beside him and snaked an arm around his waist. She sighed comfortably. Unfortunately for Draco, he was flustered at the soft, warm contact and small, but meaningful gesture he had never expected he'd ever get from Hermione.

"Thanks, Draco." She said, and stifled a yawn. He wrapped one of his arms around her and he relaxed. But he was still wondering about something.

"Hermione…"

"Yes?"

"I don't want to sound rude or anything, but I was just wondering… were you a… virgin… before, err, that happened?" She didn't answer at first but only gripped on tighter to his body.

"Yes." She nodded sadly. Draco frowned and became suddenly very angry. He stroked her soft locks consolingly.

"I'm so sorry." He told her.

"It's alright. I must have done something to deserve it."

"What? What are you talking about? You did nothing. That bastard was just a fucking creep who should… die!" Hermione looked up at him with loving, warm eyes that shone with tears. One fell and began sliding slowly down her cheek. Without thinking, Draco leaned down and kissed it away. Hermione gasped and her face went hot. His face turned red as well, but he wasn't about to let her go.

He pressed his lips softly to hers. She didn't comply right away, but as soon as the shock dispersed the melted into his touch and responded by closing her own eyes and opening her mouth for him.

They stayed like that, kissing, for what seemed like several minutes. Finally Draco broke the kiss and embraced her more tightly and she sank into him, closing her eyes again, her face pink, and her lips apart from the recent contact.

He whispered into her ear softly, huskily, yet comfortingly, "For the years I was so terrible to you, calling you names, hurting you, giving you disgusted looks… for that I am sorry. You must hate me."

She shook her head. "No, I never exactly hated you. I just… didn't understand you. I pitied you." He nodded.

"I never hated you either. I just thought I did. It was burned into my mind that I was supposed to."

"Mmhmm."

And with that, they fell asleep, the moon casting light onto two totally opposite people in each other's arms who had finally come to a friendly understanding.

Maybe something more.

AN: so, yeah! There ya go. I don't know, should I keep going? This was originally just supposed to be a one-shot, but if you guys like it enough I might write some more chapters. So REVIEWWWWW and I'll see what I can do.

Jami


End file.
